Headphoneus Supremus

The Hades 6-driver is really dark and bassy for a multi-BA type. If you listen mostly to EDM, Trance, lots of bass types then it should be right up your alley. Other than those, there are plenty of better options at a much lower price given the price tag.

500+ Head-Fier

The Hades 6-driver is really dark and bassy for a multi-BA type. If you listen mostly to EDM, Trance, lots of bass types then it should be right up your alley. Other than those, there are plenty of better options at a much lower price given the price tag.

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thanks for letting me know. But I will listen for myself tomorrow and give my full thoughts on wherever its appropriate for an impression thread for Elysian Acoustic. (Didn't see any thread for it yet.)

or I can just write a review instead since I am gonna spend a lot of time with it tomorrow. Source will not be favorable though since i am using only my own Fiio x1 + E12A stack for the audition.

500+ Head-Fier

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So apparently I got back from my experience personally by meeting with Mr. Lee from Elysian Acoustic this afternoon, had a drink with the man behind the company and it was a lot of great exchange in information and interest. And while this is the first time ever talking to a man behind the first ever CIEM company from my own country, it's clear that Mr. Lee definitely has a lot of knowledge and experience with his IEM tunings and workmanship, which solidifies my confidence in him.

But I will be honest -- before the audition I do have my own level of skepticism and keep my expectations on so-so level to prevent disappointment but after auditioning some of his demo CIEMs, I see that is no longer necessary. My doubts cleared up after just listening away to music with his lovely gems.

So here are some of my initial impressions from what I get so far in a brief 2-3 hour session with the Elysian Acoustic line ups. Not really perfect by any means but I do get a lot more information than I thought I would.

Before I begin though, I just wanna say -- my source is Fiio X1 + E12A and because of my inferior source, the sound presented here is extremely subjective to my ears and should be taken with a grain of salt, and if you have a better source than me, chances are your experience may vary from better to worse depending on your perspective. Different people have different ears and impression so they will hear different things. Hope that you guys understand that my opinion here is simply mine alone and I don't speak for any other members here.

Thank you for understanding.

So let's go.

Elysian Acoustics EROS

Price: MYR 1599 (About $375)

Driver configuration: 2 Balanced Armature drivers (One low, One high)

Tips used: Spinfit

Initial Impression

I am gonna be honest. This is with less doubt -- a V shaped sound. But yet it never strike me as being far too V-shaped to the point where the mids were nearly gone halfway, and that is a pleasant surprise to me. The midrange retained its presence to be appreciated, while the low ends and high frequencies took an elevation to the stairway to the stars.

It's got this engaging sound of being a harmonious team player to a band who like to go through rehearsals in a humble soundstage befitting of a small private room, where the instrument players would go a little nuts on their drums, cymbals and pianos but still leave enough breathing room for the vocals to do their work in a song.

The bass has this thickness and meatiness that don't come off as being in any way -- fat nor bloated. This is a clean, punchy and mildly thick bass that has a bit of body to it that my ears would feel. The impact is there but it is in no way a violent slam like you would hear from other basshead IEMs. It has both quality and quantity, but if I am to scale from 1 to 10 in balance between the two, it would be 6 for quality and 4 for quantity as a whole.

The mids took a mild step back, but retained its presence on many songs, even though I will be outright honest and say -- to those who adore their vocals, you might not appreciate the slight V-sound here as sometimes instrumentals could take over the vocals. I do love my vocals, but I can tolerate this very slight recession if only to let the bass and high frequency instrumentals to show their stuffs along. After all, a good band has to shine on all aspects, right?

Listening to Metallica and other instrumental rock solos has been a pleasant experience. Drums will hit hard, but never too hard to the point of hurting your eardrums (Unless you listen to very loud volumes), and cymbals crash with a lot of sparkle and crispness to it, and the separation is very much spot on -- surprisingly. Compared to Noble Audio Savant, this IEM has the edge in separation, accuracy, bass quantity and amount of sparkle in treble with equal smoothness. The mids is a little bit behind Savant, but for the price tag -- I really can't say I can complain.

Impression Score

Bass: 8.7/10 (The bass here has a balance of both quality and quantity with a bit of elevation on the thickness and quantity, and it's got fast attack and decay. Nice.)Mids: 7.5/10 (The weakness of the Eros. It's retained some presence, but definitely took a step back compared to other models. If you can live with a slight recession of the midrange, your score may be higher.)Treble: 8.1/10 (Treble is sparkly but not the smoothest I've heard. It doesn't extend that far either, but what could you expect from an entry model? At least the separation is quite good.)

My my my....where to start? The very first thing that hits me when I fired up my first track with Artemis plugged in was the midrange. Man oh man the midrange presented here is nothing short of something to behold.

It's easily one of the lushest, airy, and lively midrange I've heard since the old days of Vision Ears VE5 and the audition of Empire Ears Athena non-ADEL. I've never heard such amazing presentation on the midrange that springs my vocal tracks to life so ... effortlessly and it doesn't sound artificial at all in any way. Listening to Adele was a bliss, and Eva Cassidy's rendition of "What a Wonderful World" is just soaring to such vocal bliss that I truly wish she remained alive in this world...but the true magic on vocal happen when I fired up male vocal tracks such as Frank Sinatra or Andy Williams. The presentation on male vocals being superb is something rare these days in IEMs that don't cost a limb.

The beauty in listening to "My Way" just fire off the arrow of emotion straight into my eardrum and hits my brain accurately. It's truly something to behold. "Moon River" just puts me straight into the position where Andy Williams is singing during the recording session and it's truly a wonderful feeling to be listening to them on my collections.

Utada Hikaru and Nana Mizuki also came off as amazingly lively and emotional. Their voices rang full of power and yet with such softness that it never came off as sibilant, sharp or hot to my ears.

The treble extended far, but not too far away to reach flagship levels which would be ridiculous for a 3 driver model. I can hear a bit of sparkle through some tracks and pick up the splash of cymbals well, and it never came off as offensive to my sensitive ears, which means I can listen to this presentation far longer than I expected and to me, a fatigue-free sound presentation is always a good thing regardless of how an IEM sounds in nature.

The low frequency has a small level of thickness to it and this is apparent on some bass-heavy tracks. But thanks to the fast-attack decay, it's very punchy and thankfully it never bleeds into the midrange. The lows don't dig too deep nor was it packed with quantity that will knock me off like a small chimney made of bricks, but it certainly has quite a punch when needed -- like Muhammad Ali doing his swift jabs in the ring. Bassheads might need to look at something else though because I am just going to say that the bass here isn't for bassheads who want a lot of bass emphasis.

I won't call it a dark sounding IEM, but it certainly isn't super bright either, it veers into the neutral zone and I believe the sound can be appreciated by those who like a balanced sound IEM for a change.

Soundstage is more on the intimate side though, but that's not to say it's congested. Try and imagine a small performance house that happen to take place in your own house.

Impression Score:

Bass: 7/10 (Not bad for a 3 BA IEM, but definitely not for bassheads, it's got the quality but certainly not the quantity)Mids: 9.5/10 (This is truly a mid-centric IEM that surpass my expectations, it veers close to the range of VE5 in my ears and it deserves praise for such impressive tuning.)Treble: 8.5/10 (The treble is very well done but could have been extended further and had a bit more sparkle and air to it)

If Artemis is a midcentric alluring midrange Goddess (even though she's not really in actual mythology), Minerva took the midrange of Artemis and lift it up with a lot more energy and musicality accompanying that midrange. The joyous presentation of midrange is held up by that extra oomph of the high frequency and the overall sound took a turn to being slightly brighter but never came out as harsh to my ears.

Mr. Lee himself told me that I should expect a bit of sibilance due to the added tweeter in the IEM, but I don't find it sibilant, if anything it just makes most of my vocal tracks stand out and has more life to it. The midrange of Artemis is there but has that lift of brightness to make the IEM sound more energetic. But depending on different listeners who have different levels of tolerance on brightness, you might want to give this a try and see if the sibilance level is acceptable for you before you pull the trigger.

The bass is punchy, impactful and has quick attack and decay, as it was the same from Artemis, there's a very subtle added meat to the low frequency that has this thin layer of thickness added to the bass but it kept the focus on both the midrange and treble up front.

Listening to some tracks from Eva Cassidy is a joy as I can truly feel the positive emotions from some of her best song covers, and they flow with such organic presentation and lushness.

Don't expect super wide soundstage though as the spatial for Minerva is about the same as Artemis albeit with a bit of added width and depth for the treble to extend further without it getting too hot.

This is a slight bright IEM, but one that is rather inoffensive and can be pleasant to listen to if you enjoy a bit more energy to your music, especially vocal oriented songs.

Bass: 7.2/10 (Punchy and fast without bleed or bloat. Can't ask for more quantity as it's no basshead unit)Mids: 9.5/10 (The midrange remained as lush, beautiful and full of emotion as the Artemis.)Treble: 8.9/10 (The added tweeter really put energy into the songs of my library and as always -- it's nigh sibilant free tuned for lengthy listening and it extends quite far with a generous amount of sparkle and airiness to it)

This is something of an eye opener for me when it comes to IEMs that has incredibly well extended treble. The high frequency of Hades just soars right off the stratosphere on my first listen. The treble is just so incredibly smooth like Egyptian silk that it puts a smile on my face. The soundstage is also very impressive, and it has this big presentation equivalent to an opera hall. I am not sure what tuning Mr. Lee did but it really has quite an impressive soundstage presentation that felt real in the sense of space, and adding along with the incredibly smooth and well-extended treble, I keep hearing micro-details that I won't normally hear in other IEMs, and coming from Campfire Andromeda this is something impressive to my ears. A treble presentation that's grand, packed full of air, sparkle and best of all -- free of sibilance that will often be viewed as invasive to my listening immersion.

The mids presented here is nothing short of natural and lush. While not close up and personal like the Artemis, the well expanded soundstage gave it a very spacious presentation and it puts the singer position directly to a very large crowd that has this really natural accuracy that didn't come off as trying too hard to impress with super enormous soundstage. Hades is not an ultra-wide soundstage that reenact the experience with full-sized head cans that are open with sophisticated planar magnetic traducer technology like Hifiman, but it's all in the effortless presentation that simply come off as well ... natural. Neither too forward nor too distant, the mids capture my ears without trying and it's there right where the position is almost ideal to my head. Listening to live performances from Loreena McKennit has never felt such a musical bliss since my long days experiencing Empire Ears flagship model -- Zeus-R non ADEL. This is definitely the type of midrange that I can live with for a long time. In fact -- I want this type of midrange more and it just felt so alluring without trying to impress openly.

The bass felt like how it should be to my ears from a balanced armature -- speedy, punchy, and hits hard and decay quickly when it's no longer needed. The bass presented by Hades is not by any means super powerful or slams with the power of Thor's hammer like Campfire Vega or even Empire Ears Cerberus, but it's definitely very fast and still pack impact when it hits. The control presented in the bass here is so consistent that it felt almost natural and somewhat effortless, it didn't try to impress you openly with lots and lots of quantity, rather it just hits with as much quality as possible while maintain a natural decay from a balanced armature driver -- which is fast in attack nature compared to the more rumbly and powerful dynamic driver that has a clear edge on the depth and raw power delivery. Once again, Hades is not about power or shaking your ears with mass quantity of bass. It's more about natural presentation that you would expect from a balanced armature driver. And it does that. Effortlessly.

I will not call this a dark sounding IEM however, this is a very neutral IEM to my ears, neither bright nor dark, just right there in the presentation, with an ever slight learn to the bright side.

Bass: 8.5/10 (Quality over quantity, very natural fast attack decay that a balanced armature bass would sound. Very impressive presentation that doesn't try hard to impress.)Mids: 9.3/10 (Just packed full of natural presentation and raw emotion. While not as personal up close as Artemis, the big soundstage helps for a more immersive live performance experience, with soaring treble extension adding more to sibilance-free experience.)Treble: 10/10 (This is the best treble I hear so far. Soar infinitely into the skies and can feel the touch of the sparkly stars and soft airiness on those high notes that never had an ounce of sibilance present. For someone treble-sensitive like me, I cannot express how happy I am with the treble here. To those who have a rather high demand on treble extension -- you need to give this a try when you can.)

End words

Thus marks the end of my first day impression with the Elysian Acoustics.

I have to put the ARTEMIS, MINERVA and HADES as the IEMs high on my Wish List next to Empire Ears Zeus.

All in all it's been a great experience.

And I thank Mr. Lee for giving me the opportunity to provide whatever feedback and input possible for the first Malaysian CIEM make.

500+ Head-Fier

Thanks for review Got experience with QDC or Jomo? About same price at Star Pickers for entry-level models.

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Those are just impressions, bro. Full review would require me actually having a review sample for write up. Hohoho...but eventually I'll get one to do a full review on

Anyway...I only listened to QDC Gemini from Star Pickers. No experience with Jomo yet sadly.

And unfortunately, as musical as the Gemini sounded with both switches, I find the treble too sharp and hot for my taste. Not the type of sound of my preference as I don't like sibilance or overly bright IEMs. Mr. Lee from Elysian Acoustic did say the QDC 8SH is pretty good though, same goes for Samba. (But he disliked the Flamenco)

Headphoneus Supremus

Those are just impressions, bro. Full review would require me actually having a review sample for write up. Hohoho...but eventually I'll get one to do a full review on

Anyway...I only listened to QDC Gemini from Star Pickers. No experience with Jomo yet sadly.

And unfortunately, as musical as the Gemini sounded with both switches, I find the treble too sharp and hot for my taste. Not the type of sound of my preference as I don't like sibilance or overly bright IEMs. Mr. Lee from Elysian Acoustic did say the QDC 8SH is pretty good though, same goes for Samba. (But he disliked the Flamenco)

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Many thanks for your impressions Arthur! Very detailed and fun to read. I might need to give the Hades another go based on what you've written. They were bassy and warm to my recollection, but show conditions meant my impressions weren't ideal.

Interestingly, Mr Lee and I have contrasting preferences for top-tier IEMs. I prefer Flamenco over Samba, and Gemini over 8SH. He also didn't like the AAW W900 which is my most beloved IEM lol. Goes to show, what you hear matters most, regardless of reviews.

Head-Fier

Those are just impressions, bro. Full review would require me actually having a review sample for write up. Hohoho...but eventually I'll get one to do a full review on

Anyway...I only listened to QDC Gemini from Star Pickers. No experience with Jomo yet sadly.

And unfortunately, as musical as the Gemini sounded with both switches, I find the treble too sharp and hot for my taste. Not the type of sound of my preference as I don't like sibilance or overly bright IEMs. Mr. Lee from Elysian Acoustic did say the QDC 8SH is pretty good though, same goes for Samba. (But he disliked the Flamenco)

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Looks like need to demo at Star Pickers. Opting for entry or mid-tier models. The rest are way out of budget.

500+ Head-Fier

Many thanks for your impressions Arthur! Very detailed and fun to read. I might need to give the Hades another go based on what you've written. They were bassy and warm to my recollection, but show conditions meant my impressions weren't ideal.

Interestingly, Mr Lee and I have contrasting preferences for top-tier IEMs. I prefer Flamenco over Samba, and Gemini over 8SH. He also didn't like the AAW W900 which is my most beloved IEM lol. Goes to show, what you hear matters most, regardless of reviews.

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Indeed. That's why we need to formulate our own opinions because in the end we only have ears that are unique to ourselves and it's the part that makes us interpret different things in soundwaves.

It's why I enjoy the fact that I can remain civil with people in this hobby despite having such subjective opinions.

And I just gave a short listen to the QDC 8SH tonight with another meet up with Mr. Lee.

It's quite a mid-centric IEM with nice treble extension but unfortunately the lows are a bit too lacking as I felt almost no low end frequency to it. Listening to Adele and Eva Cassidy might be awesome with the 8SH but it's not gonna be a nice experience for me with Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slipknot and Linkin Park. XD

You should give the Hades another listen if you've the chance, I would actually put it next to Empire Zeus-R Non-ADEL being my all-time-favorite IEM in my wishlist.

500+ Head-Fier

Looks like need to demo at Star Pickers. Opting for entry or mid-tier models. The rest are way out of budget.

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If you have around 1000-2000 MYR, I suggest give EROS a try. It really is the sweetest mild-V-Shaped IEM I've ever tried. And as much as I don't like V-shaped IEMs anymore...I can actually appreciate EROS' sound signature. It's especially fun listening to heavy metal and rock music with it.